Letter

Our identity in the kingdom is not validated in our independence or separation from ministry, but rather in our submission and adherence to it. As wonderful as our personal relationships in Christ are, it is through ministry, His placement of care-givers in His body that we truly become His own heart-written letters of recommendation.

2 Corinthians 3:1-3 (NIV)
1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. 3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

For ministry to occur, there is the need of a minister, someone yielding to the Spirit to impart Life, and it also requires the ministered, the one receiving ministry. For the minister, the identity and qualifications as such are directly dependent upon those ministered to for validation and verification. Paul refers to those he ministered to as a direct letter of recommendation from Christ. As wonderful as Paul’s revelation was and as gifted as he was in sharing it, there could have been no impact made without those to whom it was shared. The churches, for him, were very personally connected to His own heart and ministry. All he presented would have been for naught had it not been for those who responded to his ministry and experienced transformation.

Like the family doctor and the mechanic, capacity to influence their clientele is limited by the frequency with which they are visited. From those who consistently and frequently submit to their inspection, diagnosis and implementation of repair and maintenance, there is a living representation of their work, a letter of recommendation. As they are avoided or ignored, however, there can be no responsibility placed on them for ailments or breaking down that would have been averted with their influence.

It is possible to self-medicate and DIY the car, but the best care and service to things of value in life are provided by those who have given their lives to care for them specifically. It’s possible to avoid checkups and service maintenance schedules as if everything is fine apart from them, but when things start to break down, it is then that complete dependence on the doctors and mechanics is required. They will be faithful to do their part at that point, but oftentimes it is past their ability to overcome what could have been avoided altogether by their consistent input. Those that provide the best recommendation of their services are those who recognize their need and humbly and consistently submit to their influence.

There is a purpose for the ministry each of us have been called into in the kingdom. Even the name itself indicates something is being cared for beyond the capacity of those ministered to to care for themselves. It is in the consistent frequency of giving and receiving of that ministry that comes a letter of recommendation from Christ that is written on our hearts. Our identity in the kingdom is not validated in our independence or separation from ministry, but rather in our submission and adherence to it. As wonderful as our personal relationships in Christ are, it is through ministry, His placement of care-givers in His body that we truly become His own heart-written letters of recommendation.